ENGLISH LITERATURE (CBSE/UGC NET)

Detailed explanation-1: -Elizabethan general public or people who were not nobility were referred to as groundlings . They would pay one penny to stand in the Pit of the Globe Theater (Howard 75). The upper class spectators would pay to sit in the galleries often using cushions for comfort.

Detailed explanation-2: -The groundlings were commoners who were also referred to as stinkards or penny-stinkers. The name ‘groundlings’ came about after Hamlet referenced them as such when the play was first performed around 1600.

Detailed explanation-3: -1 a : a spectator who stood in the pit of an Elizabethan theater b : a person of unsophisticated taste 2 : one that lives or works on or near the ground.

Detailed explanation-4: -In the 17th century, a groundling was an audience member in the theater’s least expensive section. For the price of a penny, groundlings stood just below the stage to view plays. Groundlings, unable to afford an actual seat, were packed tightly together and stood throughout the entire show.

Detailed explanation-5: -Taking its name from the group of lower class audience members who stood on the ground in front of the stage to watch plays in Shakespeare’s day, “The Groundlings” was officially incorporated as a non-profit organization.